Free Introductory Workshop for the 5-Week iRest Yoga Nidra August 2025 Program

Join us for a complimentary introduction of iRest Yoga Nidra on July 18, 2025. This is a sneak peek of the upcoming 5-week course that will be offered starting in August (more information below).

Experience a full guided iRest Yoga Nidra meditation and get a glimpse of the techniques available to you to help to meet each moment of life with a deep sense of wellbeing. iRest Yoga Nidra provides you with tools that can aid with sleep, alleviating stress, bringing awareness and clarity to difficult sensations or emotions, and expanding your experience of peace, joy and wellbeing.

No experience is needed to experience the benefits of meditation. iRest meets you exactly where you are at each moment. All are welcome to this inclusive and accessible session.

iRest is a contemporary adaptation of Yoga Nidra. It shares many basic principles and techniques with other forms of Yoga Nidra, with some unique enhancements. For example, in many classical variations of Yoga Nidra, you are told what to see, feel, hear, sense, taste, smell, or think while practicing. In contrast, iRest provides techniques to help you inquire into your current, unique experience of seeing, feeling, hearing, sensing, tasting, smelling and thinking. It is an intentional, grounded, and direct experience with yourself.

5-Week iRest Yoga Nidra Course Description

This 5-week course in iRest Yoga Nidra is designed to bring you the tools to meet each moment of life with a deepest sense of wellbeing. These tools can aid with sleep, trauma and stress, bringing clarity to difficult sensations or emotions, expanding your experience of joy and wellbeing.

In each class, you will experience a guided iRest Yoga Nidra incorporating the 10 step iRest protocol of Yoga Nidra and dive deeply into particular aspects of the protocol. Upon completion of the series, you will have the tools for your own daily practice and techniques to use throughout the day - little and often - which become second nature. Sensing the body and listening to your innate knowledge, finding clarity toward your own HeartFelt Desire, developing your own Inner Resource, a source of well being that can be accessed any time, Breath Sensing and so much more.

iRest Yoga Nidra doesn’t require any previous meditation or yoga experience. This course is for everyone, new and experienced practitioners are welcome and will benefit from the class. All are welcome in this inclusive, accessible class.

About iRest

iRest is a meditation practice based on the ancient tradition of Yoga Nidra and adapted to suit the conditions of modern life. When practiced regularly - little and often - iRest enables you to meet each moment of your life with unshakable peace and wellbeing, no matter how challenging or difficult your situation.

iRest was developed by Dr. Richard Miller, a spiritual teacher, author, yogic scholar, researcher and clinical psychologist, who combined traditional yogic practice with Western psychology and neuroscience. It is practiced and taught by thousands of people worldwide in a wide range of settings, including health centers, schools, community centers, yoga studios, correctional facilities and within military and veteran communities.

iRest has historically been endorsed by the U.S. Army Surgeon General and recognized by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury as a form of complementary and alternative medicine, thus warranting continuing research on its efficacy in the treatment of post- traumatic stress. iRest has been shown to be effective in scientific trials for conditions including chronic pain, sleep problems, depression and anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

iRest is simple to learn and easy to practice. It can be practiced by anyone, regardless of physical ability or experience with meditation. Once learned, iRest becomes a set of tools for life. (iRest.org)

In the 5-Week course, participants will learn to:

• Discover ways to nurture your resilience, inner peace, and well-being
• Learn techniques to integrate mindfulness and meditation into daily life
• Develop skillful strategies for navigating stress, anxiety, and challenging emotions
• Experience deep relaxation and an expanded sense of safety and balance
• Reconnect with your Essential Wholeness and remember your true nature
• How to move beyond attachment and identification with your body, mind, and experiences to uncover feelings of peace, wholeness, and authenticity
• How to apply the 10-step iRest protocol in your own life
• Techniques to support self-regulation and inner calm
• Practices to promote restful sleep and relaxation

Cancellation Policy

A refund (minus $50 non-refundable deposit) will be made for cancellations submitted by emailing mindfulness@healthucsd.edu on or before 30 days prior to the start of the course. No refunds will be allowed after this date. Registration, deposits, and funds are non-transferable.

In the unlikely event that the course is cancelled, UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is responsible only for a full refund of the registration fee and not for transportation, hotel accommodations or any miscellaneous expenses.

The refunds are processed in the same method as payment were submitted.

Note: This training requires a minimum of 10 registrants per program. Classes with fewer than 10 registrants will be cancelled and provided a refund. Please be aware of this when making arrangements to attend this program.